Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer+ Equality

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Eastern Iowa Community Colleges and the Greater Muscatine Chamber of Commerce and Industries hosted a Legislative Forum at Muscatine Community College on March 4, 2023.      

When asked how the legislature could keep LGBTQ+ students and teachers safe,

                   Muscatine Representative Mark Cisneros asks if LGBTQ+ included                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

                                    "minor attracted persons" and "pedophiles." 

If your organization would like to co-sponsor this educational forum, please contact Jessica at Together@progressmuscatine.org

Iowa Civil Rights and Safe Schools Law

Iowa Civil Rights and Safe Schools Laws make it ILLEGAL to discriminate  against a person because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. 

"Harassment" or "bullying" can be written, verbal, electronic, or  physical conduct based on an actual or perceived trait or characteristic  of the student which creates an objectively hostile school environment.  "Hostile environment" means one or more of the following:

• Conduct which places the student in reasonable fear of harm to the student’s person or property
• Conduct which has a substantially detrimental effect on the student’s physical or mental health
• Conduct which substantially interferes with a student’s academic performance
• Conduct which substantially interferes with the student’s ability to  participate in or benefit from the services, activities, or privileges  provided by a school.

Exclusion, Denial of Benefits, or Discrimination in any educational "program or activity", including:

• Academics;
• Extracurricular Activities;
• Research Opportunities; or
• Occupational Training.
• Retaliation by taking adverse action against a person for filing a  claim, participating in an investigation, or otherwise opposing  discriminatory conduct.
• Denial of Comparable Benefits in intramural or interscholastic  athletic programs is also prohibited, although schools are allowed to  have sex-segregated athletic teams.
• Harassing Conduct based on a student’s sexual orientation or gender  identity, inflicted upon the student by school employees, volunteers, or  other students

Iowa Code 216.9 Unfair or discriminatory practices - education.

1. It is an unfair or discriminatory practice for any  educational institution to discriminate on the basis of race, creed,  color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin,  religion, or disability in any program or activity. Such discriminatory  practices shall include but not be limited to the following practices: 
   1. Exclusion of a person or persons from participation  in, denial of the benefits of, or subjection to discrimination in any  academic, extracurricular, research, occupational training, or other  program or activity except athletic programs; 
   2. Denial of comparable opportunity in intramural and interscholastic athletic programs;
   3. Discrimination among persons in employment and conditions of employment;
   4. On the basis of sex, the application of any rule  concerning the actual or potential parental, family, or marital status  of a person, or the exclusion of any person from any program or  activity, or employment because of pregnancy or related conditions  dependent upon physician's diagnosis and certification.
2. For the purpose of this section, "educational  institution" includes any preschool, elementary or secondary school,  community college, area education agency, or postsecondary college or  university and their governing boards. This section does not prohibit an  educational institution from maintaining separate toilet facilities,  locker rooms, or living facilities for the different sexes so long as  comparable facilities are provided. Nothing in this section shall be  construed as prohibiting any bona fide religious institution from  imposing qualifications based on religion, sexual orientation, or gender  identity when such qualifications are related to a Bonafide religious  purpose or any institution from admitting students of only one sex. 

[C79, 81, §601A.9] 85 Acts, ch 214, §1; 86 Acts, ch 1245, §1496; 90  Acts, ch 1253, §121 C93, §216.9 2007 Acts, ch 191, §11, 12; 2008 Acts,  ch 1032, §36 Referred to in §216.2, §260C.5

Source: http://publications.iowa.gov/13716/1/SOGIEdu.pdf

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